The present invention relates generally to a mailbox used on rural mail delivery routes, and more particularly to a rural type mailbox having a slidable tray insert therein utilized to assist the gathering of mail from the mailbox.
Conventional U.S. Postal Service approved mailboxes with a pivotally attached door and a mechanical latching device have been used for many years on rural mail delivery routes. In delivering the mail, the postal service employee normally opens the door pivoted of the mailbox and deposits the mail therein. The owner of the mailbox must then open the door and search the entire enclosure of the mailbox for the deposited mail normally by visual inspection thereof and subsequent insertion of the hand and arm into the confines of the enclosure to retrieve the mail.
After dark, a visual inspection is nearly impossible and the owner is required to perform the search utilizing solely the tactile sense in an attempt to locate and retrieve the mail. Additionally, in attempting to retrieve the mail, the owner oftentimes is within his motor vehicle and is required to stretch uncomfortably or even alight from the motor vehicle to reach the mail within the mailbox. Such a situation is quite undesirable, especially in inclement weather.
The present invention is designed to overcome the above-noted limitations that are attendant upon the use of the conventional rural type mailbox, and toward this end, it contemplates the provision of a novel tray insert slidably seated within the enclosure of the mailbox thereby providing easy accessibility to the deposited mail.
It is an object of the invention to provide a tray insert which can be provided as an original accessory for new mailboxes or easily inserted in existing mailbox installations.
It is also an object to provide such a device which will meet the standards and specifications of the U.S. Postal Service.
Still another object is to provide such a device to eliminate searching and stretching for deposited mail located within the enclosure of the mailbox.
A further object is to provide such a device which may be readily and economically fabricated and will enjoy a long life in operation.